Monthly archives "April 2012"

I read recently that the US state of Maryland is banning arsenic from chicken feed. Arsenic? Many internet headlines are misleading or exaggerated, but this one was accurate. Currently, in the US, 70% of broiler chickens are fed arsenic additives. The additives were approved in order to reduce disease in the coops, as well as to give the meat a pleasant pink glow when it sits on supermarket shelves.

Slowly the growing body of evidence of the harmful effects has been gathered and there are moves now to ban it.

It’s indicative of all that’s wrong todays warlike food model. Those working in the conventional food system are trying to fight against the tide, one poisonous ingredient at a time, while new ones are approved ever quicker.

Much more sustainable, the organic model works, is safe for both those producing it and those eating it, and produces enough healthy, arsenic-free food for all.

Trikatu – the digestive enchancer
Trikatu is an ayurvedic blend of herbs (ginger, long pepper and black pepper) used to stimulate and light the digestive fires in particular. Such is its effectiveness in increasing bioavailability it’s even used with some modern medicines to improve absorption. Find it in our wholefood supplement section.

Veggie Box Survey
We were recently approached by a UCT research team working to understand why and how people participate in veg box schemes in order to develop better urban agriculture policies in Cape Town.

Cape Town is one of the few African cities that has an Urban Agriculture Policy Unit, which relies on this kind of research to maximise the benefit of growing food in and around the city of Cape Town.

I read about a story this week of an anthropologist who got a group of children he was studying to race to a tree, offering sweets for the winner. The children, instead of embarking on a mad dash for the tree, held hands and ran to the tree together, and then sat and shared the sweets.

When asked why, they answered “Ubuntu, how can one of us be happy if all the others are sad”

“I win and you lose” is the fundamental insanity of the world today. We are taught this in our games, our schooling, our sports. The challenges of the world today require us to win together. If we’re all fighting amongst ourselves for an individual victory, we’ll all be losers.

Autumn Rains
As the first autumn rains arrive, the seasons are changing. The summer fruits are disappearing, but it’s time for the return of apples and pears. We have royal gala, the red staple, and golden delicious, as well as the first naartjies.

Chocolates
I remember, during one my son’s first experience of Easter eggs, becoming rather despondent about all the unhealthy chocolates he was being given. Nowadays the situation is much better and alternatives are easier than ever to come by. We have raw chocolates from Honest Chocolate, a chocolate florentine from Earthshine and chocolates from Gayleen‘s (note that these are now roasted). Or of course your can make your own with cacao butter and cacao paste (or cacao powder) with a dash of coconut oil and honey or sweetener of your choice.